Struggles in Life
by PsychComposer
Summary: A young Mawile struggles to control the irrepressible creature that lives on her head. But does she have any hope of freeing herself of its influence while the demonic maw threatens anyone who gets too close?
1. Chapter 1

You humans think we're all the same. Well, we're not. We have identities too. We have friends, family, status, groups, you name it. You humans think yourself so superior. You think of us as animals with superpowers. You must feel so proud of yourself, sitting in a cozy house that you lived a cozy childhood and catered to by cozy parents. Of course, unlike you, we live every day of our lives wondering whether that juvenile human was going to rush out of the grass with one of those stinking pokeballs and whisk you away from everything you ever knew.

Or, well, most of us do.

I grew up hoping for the day that a trainer would be able to tame me...

Because if it didn't come, I would kill every pokemon around me.

I guess I should explain myself.

You see, on my head I have this... um...

Oh, you know how when you get really upset and you... Wait, that doesn't make sense.

You know what, I'm just going to tell you my story.

My troubles in life began on my first birthday...

When I was just a little baby Mawile, my life was perfectly peachy. I lived with my mother, a sweet, caring lady, and completely obsessed with diamonds. She also happened to be the only other pokemon I knew, but that didn't stop me from having fun. I was an only child, and I had never seen my father, so my mom could devote 100% of her time to me. She would play with me, entertain me, help me fall asleep, and basically cater to my every whim. I was being spoiled absolutely rotten, and loving every minute of it. Every day was made just for me, and every night was just a temporary reprieve in my utopian existence. Of course, my mother did little to dispel this fragile misconception, and played along with me all the same.

But even while she smiled, I could always sense a twinge of... Something behind her eyes. Was it fear? Anger? Regret? I couldn't tell. But it was there, and the feeling of some unknown inconvenience invading my world bugged me whenever I noticed it.

So one day, I finally asked her a question that would help me figure out what was wrong, so I could flatten that single irritating wrinkle in my happiness.

"Mommy?" I whined one night as we were laying down to sleep.

"Yes, honey?" she responded, smiling as she held me in her arms.

"Where's Daddy?" I asked, looking my mom straight in the eyes. I was sure his absence was related to the problem.

Upon hearing my question, my mom frowned, something I had rarely, if ever, seen her do. She was silent for a long time, just sitting there with me in her arms.

"I can't tell you that," she whispered, so quietly that I hadd to strain to hear her when her mouth was only a few inches away from my face.

I was shocked. "What? Why not?" I screamed, exasperation in every syllable.

My mom smiled again. "Because, honey, there are some things you don't need to know untill you're older."

"But I am older," I pouted. "I'm almost a whole year old." I crossed my arms, waiting for a rebuttal to my logic.

Suddenly, without a warning, mom let out a single, gasping sob. It sounded nasty coming from her mouth, garbled with black emotion. I looked at her, eyes open wide, not knowing what to do.

Instantly, she was back to her usual, cheerful self. "That's right, honey. I had forgotten," she said soothingly. "How about this: I'll tell you where Daddy went on your birthday. Does that sound fine?" she asked, her smile never quivering.

"Ummm... Sure," I muttered, not really sure what to make of this confusing confrontation. But I consoled myself with the fact that I would get my answers soon. My birthday was only a week away, after all...

The following week flew by in a blur of familiar activities and happiness. I lost myself in these distractions, not knowing that it would be the last time I would be able to act so care-free, or innocent, or happy. If only I had known.

Finally, the fateful day arrived. It was my 1st birthday, and I was ready to enjoy every minute of it. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite like that. I was having terrible stomach cramps, absolutely horrible ones that wracked my entire frame and left me helplessly curled up in my mothers arms.

Of course, I was moaning in pain, and the sound quickly woke my mother up. But instead of comforting me, she just stared at me. At least, I think she was. It was kind of hard to tell because my eyes were blurred with tears.

"M-Mommy!" I whimpered pitifully. "I'm hurt!"

"Yes Honey," she whispered back. "I know."

I stared at her, my mouth agape in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Honey, it's time for your birthday present." She whispered in a voice devoid of any feeling. "I was going to tell you where daddy was," she continued as she stared into space, her eyes unfocused. "You see, it all began way back during the beginning of our kind. We were a vain and jealous species, the Mawile, and we would spend just as much time flaunting our beautiful hair as we would hating those who were stronger than the Mawile clan. We were so jealous of their strength that our ancestors tried pleading with Arceus to grant the Mawile more power than any other pokemon," she shook her head sadly.

"Mommy!" I whimpered with all the strength I could muster. "I need help!"

She continued as if I hadn't spoken. "Of course he refused. He warned us to stop our quest for power, but the Mawiles wouldn't listen. So instead, they turned to Giratina. After a long, arduous search, they found him, and pledged themselves to him in order to grow stronger. He then gave the Mawile clan great power, but at the cost of their beautiful hair. The Mawiles were outraged, and demanded that Darkrai give them back what belonged to them," she rambled on, staring above my head with those dead eyes.

Suddenly, the horrible cramps worsened, and my head was split open by the worst headache I had ever experienced. I screamed, a loud piercing howl that seemed to have no effect on my mother. She continued to mutter her story in a flat, toneless voice.

"Giratina was merciful, and gave them their hair back. But when the Mawiles discovered that he had taken their new powers back in exchange for the hair, they turned on him, trying in vain to gain power by force. Giratina beat them all near to death in an instant," she whispered emotionlessly. At this point she dropped me, still screaming, onto the hard rock surface, and continued to stare at my head. "To punish the Mawiles for betraying him, he cursed them with the power that they had sought so foolishly. But it would forever be out of their reach to control, for it would be contained in the very hair they valued so much. They became monsters, unable to control the bestial urges that wracked them, powerless to stop themselves from attacking the pokemon who tried to help them or restrain them. The Mawiles then separated, searching for the most desolate locations they could find so that the world would be free of the monsters they had become."

"But it didn't end there. Not even the children of the cursed Mawile were spared. They inherited the same terrible curse that afflicted their parents, and those who managed to suppress the urge to attack those close to them soon died of a terrible hunger no regular food could cure." Here she stopped dead, and just stared at me.

The headache of mine was only getting worse. It felt like my veins had been filled with acid that was slowly seeping into my scalp. I began crying out for anyone who would be able to stop the pain. "MOMMY! DADDY!" I screamed, my throat already hoarse from the constant yelling.

My mother stirred slightly upon hearing me. She looked into my eyes and said in a dead voice, "Don't you understand, sweetheart? Daddy was your first meal. And I am your second." Her eyes grew distant and hazy then, as if her spirit had already left her body.

And then the pain was gone.

I didn't know what happened. I stared around, shivering, searching for the reason that I had recovered.

Then a rumbling growl sounded through the air right beside my ear.

I looked up, trembling, and stared open-mouthed at my long black hair. Except it wasn't my hair. It couldn't be. Hair doesn't have teeth, or move by itself.

The gaping, toothed maw my hair had become growled again, and nudged itself in the direction my mom was sitting in. I glimpsed a drop of saliva ooze from its mouth as it seemed to smell my mother.

"No," I whispered in desperation, knowing instantly what was coming next but hoping with every fiber of my being it wasn't true.

The maw opened wide and reached towards my mother, still sitting helplessly in her death-like trance. It's incisors widened further, preparing for a final plunge into flesh.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled, unable to move, to run, to save my mother, or anything, as the razor-sharp teeth sliced into my mother's skin.

The last thing I remember before a blissful void of unconsciousness enveloped me was the terrible grating of flesh being ripped apart.

After what seemed like years of empty dreams, I woke to find a scene of carnage, and sitting in the middle of it all was a single diamond. My mother had loved diamonds. She always had one on her...

So. Now you know what I am. I need help fast, or the cave I'm living in could easily become a graveyard. But I don't know if I can wait for a trainer. I need to do something now before this monster living on my head completely overtakes my life and turns me into a demon of mass destruction...

But what am I supposed to do?

End of Prologue

Hello! This is PsychComposer, and I want to start off by saying that I am really thankful to all of you readers who took the time to read my story. If you could, I would really appreciate it if you left a comment saying what you think of my story. I'm fully open to criticism, so fire away.

Also. This might end up just being a one-shot, but I am seriously considering turning this into a full story. If you want to see more of Marcy the Mawile (that's her name, by the way. It was never relevant in the story for her to say her own name, so here it is) then please say so. I'm really kind of on the fence about writing her story, so any encouragement will likely speed up when the next chapter will appear.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully untill next time, see ya, and Psych Out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Sable sat crouched behind a rock, staring silently at his prey through the murky darkness. A lone Aron was busy munching away at some iron ore, oblivious to the shadowy figure several feet behind him. Sable was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, the exact second when his prey was completely defenseless to a sudden assault.

That moment was soon at hand, as the Aron relaxed enough to sit down on its haunches, prone to any sudden assault from behind. Sable's jeweled eyes sparkled, recognizing the time for action.

Soundlessly, Sable began creeping towards his soon-to-be victim, his feet making as much noise as shadows on the rough, rocky ground of the cavern. All he needed to do was get close enough for a single night shade, and it would be lights out for a weakling Aron like this.

He smiled. Dinner would be delicious. A Sableye's diet usually consisted of gems and ores found deep in the caves, but Sable had found that an Aron's iron skin tasted just as good as any jewel, which were rare treats to a scavenger. And the ore he usually would have to content himself with was thin and mixed with far less appetizing rocks. And so what if he had to work a little for a meal? He'd always been good at sneaking and fighting. And since the Sableyes weren't social creatures outside of parenthood, no one else would be telling him off about it, spouting crap like "That's not our way," or "You're a Sableye, not a Haunter! Stop eating other Pokemon!" Sable never had much patience for old traditions. He did things his own way. Unlike the 99% of all pokemon, who were content to live exactly like their parents for generations.

Sable pushed these thoughts out of his head. He should be catching dinner instead of thinking about it. Sable paused his advance only a foot away from the unsuspecting creature, looming like a demon over its small frame. A devilish smile split his face. Too easy.

Suddenly, in one of the countless tributary tunnels that intertwined throughout the cavern, the harsh noise of stumbling and crashing broke the silence, the din exaggerated by hours without a sound.

The Aron, startled out of its meal, swiveled its head towards the source of the noise, and spotted him out of the corner of its eye. Sable was sure of it. He could see it in the way its body tightened up, and the forced stillness that did little to hide its fear. For a while, neither of them moved, waiting for something to provide an advantage over their opponent.

The change came in the form of another crashing sound resounding from the tunnel, reverberating off of the rock walls. Sable glanced towards the source of the noise, temporarily distracted him from his stand-off.

The aron, on the other hand, was already sprinting off into a nearby crevice before the sound finished bouncing off of the walls. Sable cursed, lurching forward in a vain attempt to prevent the creature from reaching safety. One of his desperate swipes was close, clipping one of its hind legs, but it just bounced uselessly off of the metal plating that made aron such resilient creatures. Frightened even more by the foreign touch, the Aron put on a final burst of speed and flung itself into the crack.

Sable swore violently and began clawing at the stone edges of the crevice. After a few minutes of useless scratching, he finally gave up. Instead, he turned to the tunnel where the offending noise had come from. Whatever had scared away his meal was about to pay for it.

Pov change

Marcy woke up face-down on the rocky ground and her head feeling like it was ready to split. For a few minutes she just lied there, dazed, as her senses stopped swaying and she tried to remember how she wound up on the floor.

She groaned as she lifted herself up into a sitting position and began massaged her temples, trying to get a bearing on her situation. Her head still ached like a disgruntled hippo was trying to shove its way out of her skull, but the memories were coming back.

She had ambling along as usual, trying to avoid a riotous group of Machop that seemed determined to beat the living daylight out of her when she heard a sound... A voice, maybe. But what did it say? That part was still a blank, not to mention how she had fallen and wound up unconscious.

She was interrupted from an unfruitful attempt to stir up her memory by a dark presence in front of her. Looking up, she saw a rather unpleasant-looking Sableye looming over her, staring at her with emotionless gem-eyes.

Instantly, she tried to scamper away, years of training herself to avoid any living being kicking in before she could even process what was going on.

She had barely gotten a foot away when the Sableye grabbed her foot, halting her advance in a little under a second.

"You're not going anywhere," he growled, talons digging into Marcy's skin. "You scared away my meal, and you get to pay for it."

Marcy was baffled. What had she done? She hadn't even met any pokemon recently, much less scared any. And Sableye eat minerals. Minerals don't run away. What was going on?

"Umm... Sorry?" she said tentatively, still not quite knowing what she had done.

The Sableye grunted. "Sorry doesn't help. Your stupid, stumbling self is going to have to find a way to pay me back," he hissed. His grip tightened to a painful level.

Marcy didn't like this situation. The Sableye obviously wasn't at all afraid of her, and if she couldn't keep a handle on her hair's appetite, things could get bad fast. Not to mention his intentions didn't seem at all pure in the first place. "You really shouldn't be near me," she replied, her voice quavering. "I can be dangerous."

The Sableye just chuckled darkly. "You? Dangerous? Ha. You couldn't put a scratch on me. Now, about your 'payment'," he growled, jerking her prone body towards him. Then his eyes (or is it gems?) glittered as they spotted the object in her arms.

"That diamond," he said wistfully. "I'll just take that,"

Marcy started. The diamond? No. Anything but the diamond. This diamond was the only thing left of her mother after... Her first birthday. She couldn't part with it, like she had held onto it for months, despite all of the negative attention and bad memories it brought upon her.

"N-No. I can't," she whispered, clutching the gem to her chest.

Wrong answer. "What do you mean, 'I can't'?" The Sableye growled menacingly, shoving his face inches from hers. "It's the diamond or your life. Take your pick."

Marcy huffed defiantly. What a bully. He had no place demanding food from weaker pokemon. Someone should really put him in his place.

_Then why don't you? _

Marcy started, glancing around her to find the source of the voice. What was that? The Sableye on top of her didn't seem to hear it.

_Show this pitiful pokemon whose boss._

Marcy's eyes widened as she realized that the voice was ringing in her own head. Then a familiar feeling of cold, intense dread dropped like a stone in her stomach. She knew this feeling. All too well.

"Run," she whispered to her assailant, pleading to him to get away from her. She wouldn't be able to control herself in a matter of seconds.

The Sableye got even more miffed. "Run? Who do you think you are? You are just a..." his voice trailed off as he noticed the indistinct shape rising up behind his victim.

Her eyes were wide and pleading, filled with fear for the Sableye that didn't even know what would happen to him.

The mouth took shape out of her hair, forming teeth and growling at the stunned pokemon in front of it.

"Run."

The dark maw sniffed once more, smiled, and hurled itself forward, ready to devour the living being that sat stunned before it.

Marcy closed her eyes. She'd seen this once before, and the experience would haunt her forever.

A cry of pain rang out in the cavern, echoing for miles away from the poor creature that made it.

End of chapter 1

Hey, PsychComposer here. Ok, first things first, reviews. I love reviews, especially critical ones, and they keep me invested in my writing. So if you want more chapters quickly, then review. It makes things a lot faster when I'm creating chapters when I know there are people waiting to see them.

Secondly, for those of you waiting on my twewy fanfic, I'm sorry about the delay, but I needed a change of pace. Writer's block sucks.

Well, that's it for now. Until next time, peace, and Psych out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2 Encounter

Sable hurled himself backwards, narrowly avoiding the razor teeth that had somehow taken form out of the hair of the young Mawile and slammed his head against the ground. His ears rang and for a second, but it quickly faded away into the sound of the Mawile shrieking pitifully. Sable quickly pulled himself up, trying to get a grip on the situation that he found himself in.  
In front of him, the maw swayed slightly, as if confused that its prey wasn't in its mouth. Sable's mind raced, trying to unravel the dozen questions that sprang into his head .What the heck was that thing? Does it have any other powers? Why the heck was it made of hair?  
Sable was snapped out of his thoughts when the maw recovered and lunged itself at Sable again, but this time Sable was ready. He deftly shifted left, allowing the attack to swoosh by him, and slashed at the temporarily vulnerable mouth. To his surprise, his claws bounced off of it like he was attacking a steel-type instead of a mop of hair. It growled, seemingly irritated, and snapped at him again, catching his forearm on the edge of a razor tooth.  
Sable grunted and shoved the mass of teeth away, leering at his opponent. He hadn't survived this long on strength alone. He needed to use his brain, but this thing just kept coming right back at him. Again, the maw lunged at him, Sable just jumped out of the way. Having overcome his original surprise, it was quickly becoming obvious that this monster was really quite predictable. And if he was right...  
The maw launched itself forward, but stopped dead as it suddenly reached the end of its reach. It growled and retreated back, waiting for another chance to strike.  
Sable smiled. No problem. It wouldn't leave the Mawile. Just as he thought. Now how to deal with this unexpected creature...  
He could easily just run away, but that would leave a bad tasted in his mouth and he really wanted that diamond. A single diamond can keep a Sableye running for a week, and they're delicious to boot. But he had a more important plan for that particular gem. So what to do instead?  
Sable swept a keen eye over the situation. That demonic mouth was coiled around the Mawile, who was kneeling on the ground and... Crying? Why was she crying? She was the one controlling that evil mass of hair, wasn't she? Well, whatever. Not his problem. Then his eyes slid over to the diamond lying on a crack, and a malicious smile leapt to his lips. He could snatch that up and disappear down the tunnel before that maw even had time to lick its teeth.  
Sable crouched on the balls of his feet, bunching himself up for a swift sprint in front of the death trap. Ok. Ready to go in 3...2...1...  
_ Slurp._  
Sable stared at the space where the diamond had been a moment before, not comprehending what had just happened. Then he noticed the jaws chewing on something. It must've been pretty hard, because it couldn't seem to crush whatever it was munching on. Then it finally sunk in what exactly had just happened.  
It had eaten the diamond.  
Suddenly spurred by rage, Sable hurled himself forward, determined to wrest the diamond out of the jaws that had snatched it away from him, but his assault gave him nothing but a chipped claw. The creature, seemingly content, withdrew from him and returned to the Mawile, where the teeth faded away and the hair fell naturally back onto her shoulders.  
Sable was breathing hard, cursing his luck. This had to be one of the unluckiest days of his life. Of course, there was always the day when...  
Sable shook his head to derail that train of thought. He wasn't in the mood to dwell on the past.  
He flexed his claws, a nervous habit of his since childhood, and walked over to the prone Mawile who still sat with her face buried in her hands. Maybe she had some answers.

POV switch: Marcy

Marcy had withdrawn within herself, sheltering her mind and consciousness deep within unexplored parts of her psyche. She didn't know how it happened, exactly, but she knew that it always brought peace and calm in times where all she needed was a little time apart from the cruel world she was a part of.  
In this blank recess of her mind, she was free to imagine whatever she wanted. It was almost like having a gigantic page to draw on, except the drawings became real and always turned out exactly how she pictured them.  
But there was one thing she could never force into being here. No matter how many times she tried, she could never get an image of her mother to exist as more than a blurred mirage. She would try to create her every time she arrived here, but never succeeded.  
So instead, she turned to the next best thing. She created friends. Playful friends, happy friends, annoying friends, anything to banish the dreadful loneliness that plagued her. And she would be happy, surrounded by formless, smiling faces. Of course, every dream is just a dream, and has to end sooner or later...

Marcy woke up, as usual, on the ground, but kept her eyes glued shut. It was a habit of necessity, from when she had woken up once to find a severed and disfigured arm lying right in front of her face.  
She didn't move, trying to recapture the wisps of her fleeting dream for just a few more moments, but they slipped away like sand through her fingers.  
She would have been perfectly content to lie there for an hour or two if something hadn't roughly prodded her face.  
She blinked her eyes open, and looked wearily at the Sableye crouching in front of her, ready to prod her cheek again. Something was important about that, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.  
"Hey," growled the Sableye. "Wake up. I still have a bone to pick with you."  
Marcy sat up, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Some little idea was wriggling around in her head, trying to make itself known. But what was it? Something about the Sableye. She glanced over in his direction.  
The Sableye crouched on its haunches, as if ready to spring away at a moment's notice. Now that she got a closer look at him, she could see a long scratch in one of his eyes. It looked deep.  
They stared at each other for a while, tension filling the space between them, until Marcy finally remembered what was so important.  
This Sableye was the first pokemon to ever see her hair alive and live through it.  
A wide grin split her face. She never thought she would ever find a pokemon strong enough to survive an encounter with her.  
Unfortunately, the Sableye misinterpreted her smile. He leered at her and took a cautious step back, his body tensed for action. "Stop right there. I beat your hair once, I could do it again."  
Marcy didn't listen. Despite his objections, she hurled herself forward and grabbed the Sableye in a hug.  
He was stunned, unable to respond to this unexpected action. He stared at her for a few seconds, and simply muttered, "What the heck have I gotten into this time?"

End of Chapter 2

Hello again, PsychComposer here. After an extensive and undeserved break, I have finally finished chapter two. Hopefully I will be getting onto a regular writing schedule, so expect another chap in two weeks or so.  
Reviewers! Last chapter's reviews, and the first for this story, are courtesy of Orangen and ShinetheSableye. Thank you both, and I hope I hear from you again! Until chapter 3, thanks for reading, and Psych out.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Sable muttured under his breath and shoved his nose into the dirt, trying to catch a wiff of fresh prey. He'd hadn't had any luck for the past few hours, and this bouncy little noise maker wasn't helping matters.

Sable had reached an impasse concerning the gem. He wasn't going to just leave it alone, that would leave a bad taste. And that maw would prevent any assault of his from yielding anything but wounds. So he would wait. He seriously doubted that it could digest the diamond, and it had to come out sometime. All he needed to do was stay close to the Mawile.

The problem wasn't staying near her. The problem was that she wouldn't leave him well enough alone. EVER.

"What are you looking for?" the pesky kid asked, shoving her head over his shoulder.

"I'm looking for food. Now would you get you get off?" Sable growled. This kid was seriously testing his patience. He'd figured it would be easy to keep her close, being a little girl and all. Just flash his sharp teeth and warn her not to run and she would just quietly go along with it. But nope. He couldn't do that. He hadn't even gotten a single minute of peace ever since he met her.

That kid wasn't cooperative in the slightest. She scared away prey, never stopped talking, and was just obnoxiously bouncy. What a twerp.

She tapped his diamond eye to get his attention. "What's your name?" she asked.

He stopped his search long enough to grunt "Sable," and went back to work.

"That's a stupid name," she noted, sitting in front of him. He grunted again and turned away from her, trying to keep himself under control.

"Your parents must've been stupid too," she concluded, doodling in the sand with her finger.

Shut Up, Sable thought. How long is that diamond going to take to pass through? Days? Oh, Arceus, this is going to be a nightmare.

"Why are your eyes red?" she asked, giving him another poke on the eye. "Shouldn't it be blue?"

He scurried away, trying to catch the scent of any pokemon deaf enough not to have heard her rambling. "It's what you eat. Emeralds make it green, obsidian makes it black, yadda yadda."

"So… You eat rubies?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"No…" he replied, turning to her and giving her his best devil smile. "I drink blood."

She sat in stunned silence, giving nothing but a little gasp of surprise, as he turned back to finding dinner. That was perfect. She wouldn't be bothering him for at least another-

"But isn't that bad?" she gasped, "You're hurting other pokemon!"

"Who cares!" Sable yelled, his last shred of patience ripped away. "I don't care about others! All that matters is me! And I really don't give a ratata's ass if you think I'm 'bad'!" He turned on her, and without missing a beat added "And you! Aren't you getting a bit preachy with me, hauling around that murderous hair of yours? If I'm a bad pokemon, then so are YOU!"

"That's not t-true!" Marcy protested, nervously twirling her hair. Sable was unfazed.

"Hmph. Really now?" He leaned right in front of her face and simply asked. "Do good pokemon put everyone around them in mortal danger?" He leaned back and smiled maliciously. "That doesn't sound very good to me."

And without another word, he stalked away into the darkness, leaving behind the bleary-eyed Mawile to fend for herself.

Several hours later, Marcy woke up in the nearby crevice that she had wedged herself into. She rubbed her eyes, yawned, and stretched, but made no attempt to move out of her isolated nook. She glanced around the cave, saw no one, and sighed. Sable wasn't back yet. She didn't know if he would ever be back.

She didn't even know if she wanted him to return. He was just so horrid, saying all of those mean things to her. It wasn't her fault any of this was happening to her. He should just go be a meanie to someone else. Nothing he said was even true.

Right?

Marcy closed her eyes and willed herself back to sleep. If it wasn't true, then why did his words sting so much? She just didn't know.

And as much as she didn't want another round of abuse, Sable had been the first pokemon she could actually talk to without… eating. What little conversation they had was thrilling to her, having been alone for months. She just wanted to talk and talk and talk…

She sighed. Why did the only one she could talk to have to be such a huge meanie?

Sable sneezed.

He sniffed and continued munching on some dirty topaz he had stumbled upon. While live prey was always his preferred meal, he never let that stop him from passing up a free meal. Besides, he found it easier to think on a full stomach, and he certainly needed to think about this little nuisance with that brat.

He really wanted, no, _needed that diamond. But it was stuck in that demonic hair. How long until it relinquished its hold on the gem? There was no way to tell except to wait and see. It had to let go sometime._

_He grunted and tossed away his meal. Why did that Mawile have to be so annoying? He had been alone for months, just the way he liked it, and all of a sudden that rolling storm of endless noise bumps into his life. He just couldn't take it. And it wasn't just the noise. Her demeanor just got on his nerves. She acts like she's never even met another pokemon, for Arceus' sake!_

_He paused. That might actually be the case, with her hair and all. Not that he really cared why- the problem was that she didn't seem to have any sense of personal boundaries, physical or emotional. Not a good problem to have with uncontrollable murder instincts._

_Then he heard a noise._

_He froze instantly and swiveled his ears towards the source, trying to pick out any other noises. He heard a light padding behind him, in a pattern he didn't recognize from any of the pokemon he had hunted in this region. He stayed perfectly still as he waited for the pokemon to get closer. Even the best night vision was almost useless when trying to find a statue-still Sableye, and he had had prey wander right up to him unknowingly. He resisted the urge to smile and give away his position with his sharp, shiny teeth. What was the main course going to be?_

_The padding stopped._

_He waited, hoping to hear more, but got nothing. He grunted, and began walking forward._

_He almost bumped into the Absol waiting in front of him._

"_What the hell?" Sable shouted, reeling back from the sudden appearance._

_The Absol just leered at him. "Your eyes are red," he stated simply._

_Sable, still recovering from the shock, just replied "Yes… And?"_

_Suddenly, the blade on the side of its head lit up and began humming with power. "You've murdered too many pokemon. It is time someone made you… Disappear." It settled into a battle stance._

"_Wonderful," Sable muttured to himself as he rose his claws to fight. "Just what I needed."_

_Finally. Man, it feels good to be writing again. I'm so sorry for the long hiatus, and hopefully I can keep myself focused on my creative endeavors more when school lets out. But even so, don't be afraid to message me or leave a comment if you want to see the story continue! On that note, this chapter is dedicated to EmeraldDragon1 for finally getting me off of my lazy butt to write this chapter. Thanks also go out to GrimGrendel and TheTanReader for leaving their reviews. Thanks, and I hopefully I won't take a couple months for the next chapter. (._.')_


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